Maine Cruise 2005
Week 2

No one cared much about going anywhere today.  Heidi sacked till nearly noontime, so I relaxed all morning in the cockpit.  Nathan, out for a dinghy ride with Gavin, thoughtfully showing his boy the ropes and conveniently "pretending" to let the outboard run out of fuel in the middle of the harbor so that he could teach proper refueling techniques.

At lunchtime, Britton rowed by, so we invited him aboard for a meatloaf sandwich.  Later on, Nathan joined us in the cockpit, as Heather and Gavin were napping.  It was just one of those lazy days, with beautiful weather and no real motivation.

In the late afternoon, we rowed over for cocktails on Dasein, and then went ashore for dinner at the renamed "Bread and Water Cafe", behind the Bucks Harbor Market.  Last year, when the restaurant was called the Cafe out Back, we enjoyed an outstanding meal there; sadly, with the name change seemed to come a change in the quality as well, as we experienced very odd service from a spacey waiter, and food that was nowhere near as good as the year before.  Too bad.  We returned to the boat late, having had a fun--but unusual--evening.

Foggy and rain in the morning (not forecast); things looked better later in the morning, so we headed out 1120, hoping to sail down Eggemoggin reach to Wooden Boat School, located at the eastern end of the reach..  I had tucked in a reef before leaving, as the winds seemed to be 15-20 knots, but once outside the harbor I had to shake out the reef immediately, as the winds had lightened.  The wind was quite light and fluky until we reached the Deer Isle Bridge a mile or two down the reach. East of the bridge, the wind was still fluky, but the sailing was much better--at times even outstanding.  It was one of the few times I had managed to sail down Eggemoggin reach, and the first time in Glissando, so this was something of a triumph.  We picked up a mooring off of the Wooden Boat School, and we were impressed by the pleasantness of the location--somewhere we had not been before.

Heidi and I addressed the Case of the Missing Shorts.  She insisted that she had brought several pairs of khaki and jersey shorts, and even though both of us spent quite a bit of time searching through every locker, they were nowhere to be found.  Neither of us could figure out what might have happened.  I loaded the boat in Falmouth, and was sure that I had loaded everything that had been packed at home; Heidi wasn't so sure, so we wondered if we might find a full tote bag in the kitchen at home, or if possibly I had somehow left it on the dock during loading???  The mystery would remain unsolved until we arrived home, where we discovered all the shorts in a bureau drawer.

In the afternoon, we went ashore and walked up to the Wooden Boat Store, where I paid too much for a silly bronze lead line (Britton had one and I just had to get it...cool!).  Then, we walked around the brick buildings of the Wooden Boat School, watching the goings on.  We observed a very interesting class on bronze sand casting.  Later, everyone gathered on Glissando for cocktails on what would probably be the last night all three boats were together.  Five windjammers had also gathered nearby, adding to the idyllic scenery.

It had been a very fun first week by all accounts--good sailing, good friends, and good relaxation.  We all looked forward to the next several weeks of cruising in our own way.

The morning dawned with thick fog and still air, and the fog remained in full force until about 1000, at which time the sky began to brighten.  By 1100, the fog had receded and the sun was coming out.  During this hour, we lingered and watched the five windjammers get underway, sailing clear of the harbor in the very light breeze.

We departed around 1120, shortly after Dasein had departed for ports unknown (Northeast Harbor, perhaps?).  We motored a circle around Prudence on the way to say our goodbyes with Britton, and then motored out of the harbor and past the eastern end of Eggemoggin reach, bound for nearby Hell's Half Acre.  Outside, a light breeze arose, so we sailed about half of the total distance of the day, but had to motor again when the wind died in amongst the islands.   We were anchored buy around 1400 or so, in time for a late lunch.  Then, we relaxed the remainder of the afternoon.

Shortly after dark, as we were preparing to go to bed, a thunderstorm rolled through, though not quite a direct hit.  The winds gusted as high as 30, which wasn't too bad, and we had some heavy rain and lots of lightning around.   Eventually, the storm receded, and I could go to bed.

<This is a sunrise picture

In the wake of the thunderstorms overnight, signaling a cold front, the morning was bright and clear, with a stiff northwest breeze that lasted most of the day.  It seemed a perfect day to enjoy our surroundings, particularly as this location was replete with ledgy outcroppings, small islets, and other interesting fodder around which to row and explore.  I rowed around for a bit in the morning, and then at low tide in the afternoon the two of us rowed ashore for a long walk, as most of the rocky areas were connected with bars, either high and dry or minimally submerged.

As we lingered on the rocks, suddenly, as if out of nowhere, the large three-masted schooner Victory Chimes appeared from behind the trees, sailing strongly up the narrow channel in the 20 knot breeze and looking fine.  She later tacked and barreled past the opening to our little anchorage, and then sailed boldly into a neighboring cove before anchoring, surely giving her passengers a thrill.

Last night's thunderstorms left in their wake a gorgeous, clear, calm morning.  After a relaxing morning, we decided to head to nearby Wreck Island.  We had hoped to sail the short distance, but there was not even the beginning of a hint of wind by late morning (we could see right out to the open waters of the ocean), so we raised the anchor and motored the short distance, dropping the anchor an hour later in the head of the cove at Wreck Island.

the afternoon passed in the normal way, with reading, observing, and some dinghy exploration.  I went ashore briefly while Heidi napped.  It was cruising; little happens on some days.

Overnight, a gusty sw wind began to pick up, and in the morning the skies were gray and showery.  By 0900, fog had set in, and it looked as if we might end up staying for the day.  The wind gusted into the 20s, and the fog hung tight most of the day, though I could see plenty of brightness above in the sky; I had a feeling that just inland it was probably hot and sunny, but in our slightly offshore position we were stuck in the fog.  

At around 1600, the sun finally won out, and the fog cleared away.  Along with an approaching cold front, we experienced light showers and severe weather warnings on the VHF, but we missed the storms, though we could hear them and watch some darker clouds pass nearby.  Afterwards, the skies cleared completely, and the stars were bright and numerous after dark.

Having last iced and provisioned a week ago in Bucks Harbor, our ice supply and fresh food had neared its end.  (Product note:  Getchell Brothers ice, available in most downeast areas, is far inferior to O'Hara ice that we get closer to home.  The Getchells ice seems to sublimate immediately and disintegrate much more quickly.)

We had discussed several options for reprovisioning, but as we were reluctant to leave Merchant's Row just yet, we elected to try out Burnt Cove, located on the west side of Deer Isle just north of the thorofare.  A fellow I had run into at Hells Half Acre earlier in the week had indicated that there was a good store there, and the cruising guide validated this.

I was up at 0430, a bit before low tide, as we had swung around in the opposite direction thanks to a northwest wind, and were now quite close to the shore in the anchorage.  We were in about 6' of water with 2 hours remaining before low, and I was feeling a bit close.  I had sounded all around in the dinghy the day before, using my fancy new leadline from Wooden Boat, but felt that it would be best if I pulled in some of the scope to move us a boatlength further from shore.  Afterwards, I slept little, and got up early to allow enough time to relax before heading off for a provisioning run.

We departed at 0810 and motored in light headwinds the 5.2 miles to Burnt Cove, taking a scenic route in amongst the islands.  We arrived at 0915, and picked up a huge mooring in the cove.  We rowed ashore to a nearby lobster dock with totebags in hand, and walked the surprisingly long distance up the road along the cove to the head of the cove, where the Shur-Fine market was located.  It was a good store, but definitely a longer walk than we had anticipated--especially on the he way back, laden with groceries and 50 lb. of fresh ice.  

I had loaded the icebox and put everything away by just after 11, and we departed at 1115, raising sail and enjoying a very pleasant reach back through Merchant's Row, following the general route we took out earlier in the morning.  We decided to anchor outside of Round Island for the night, a pleasant small anchorage to which we had not yet been, and were anchored by 1255 on a gorgeous, sunny, hot day--perfect summer.  

Through the afternoon, in between rowing, exploring, and reading, we watched a large cruising group head to nearby Wreck Island, totaling over 20 boats.  I couldn't tell where they were from, but we were glad to have left there.

We relaxed through the morning, waiting for some wind to come up.  With a short run up Jericho Bay to Buckle Island planned, we looked forward to a pleasant sail on yet another gorgeous day.  Just after 1000, the wind had picked up some, so we prepared for departure and left at 1030, setting sail almost immediately and enjoying an extremely pleasant and relaxing sail in 5-10 knots of wind and with a favorable tide up the bay.  We arrived, thoroughly pleased and relaxed, at Buckle Island just after 1300, and anchored near the island.  I went ashore and walked some of the trails on the island, while Heidi stayed aboard to relax.

During the afternoon, the wind began to pick up some, but in the evening the winds began to howl annoyingly.  We were secure, but the winds became tiresome after a while, especially as they continued well into the night and after dark.  At some point overnight, the wind died; I don't know when.

Glissando, Pearson  Triton #381
www.triton381.com 

We recommend viewing this site with your screen resolution set to 1024 x 768 or larger.  Problems?  Email the webmaster.

©1999-2014 by Timothy C. Lackey.  All rights reserved.  No duplication of any portion of this website allowed without express permission.  Permission may be obtained by emailing the webmaster.